Envelopes from the Edge

To call this thing a book is something of a stretch. The pages are not numbered; I counted a mere 60. Better just to call it a masterpiece. With remarkable power and economy, Address Unknown (Souvenir Press) recounts the breakup of a friendship between a Jewish art dealer in San Francisco and his German business partner after the latter returns to Germany in 1932. Author Kressmann Taylor tells the story solely through their letters, which saves a lot of space on plot, dialogue and description. Yet the letters carry considerable freight.

"Back in Germany! How I envy you,"...

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